As impressive as those 13 Ks are to seven, I think, just going by the lines there, Marquis had the better performance. 96 pitch CGs, hell, any CG under 100 pitches, is truly phenomenal. What an incredible performance, pitching nine innings with just 96 pitches! What a game.

So here we have the POV that throwing a tiny number of pitches, just over 10 per inning, is a "better performance" than striking out twice as many guys. This made me wonder: in theory/dream land, what do you think is the best a starting pitcher can possibly play? Using the fewest pitches, or striking out the most guys?

I'm sort of in the camp of luck-neutral performance as a measure, so I'd say 81 pitch, 27 strikeouts would be perfect perfection.

I might say that Pedro's 17 K game against the Yankees on 9/10/99, with the only hit being a Chili Davis homer, was better than some perfect games. 98 game score, .623 WPA. 120 pitches, 19 swinging strikes, 29 strikes looking.

Compare that to Buerhle's perfect game. 6 Ks, 93 Game Score, .290 WPA, 116 pitches, 6 swinging strikes, 22 looking. Buerhle more or less needed a spectacular catch by Dewayne Wise and solid defense throughout in order to even be in this conversation.

I'm sort of in the camp of luck-neutral performance as a measure, so I'd say 81 pitch, 27 strikeouts would be perfect perfection.

I might say that Pedro's 17 K game against the Yankees on 9/10/99, with the only hit being a Chili Davis homer, was better than some perfect games. 98 game score, .623 WPA. 120 pitches, 19 swinging strikes, 29 strikes looking.

Compare that to Buerhle's perfect game. 6 Ks, 93 Game Score, .290 WPA, 116 pitches, 6 swinging strikes, 22 looking. Buerhle more or less needed a spectacular catch by Dewayne Wise and solid defense throughout in order to even be in this conversation.

Kerry Wood's 20K game was damn near perfection. 105 game score is the highest I've ever seen.

So, would something less than a 27-pitch or 27-K game be the best possible performance, if it was Game 7 of the World Series? Or would a 27-pitch or 27-K game in Game 7 of the World Series be the best possible game?

So, would something less than a 27-pitch or 27-K game be the best possible performance, if it was Game 7 of the World Series? Or would a 27-pitch or 27-K game in Game 7 of the World Series be the best possible game?

Best all-time, aside from Don Larsen (perfect game in a World Series???? Before expansion?):

Walter Johnson's second consecutive shutout of the Yankees/Highlanders. That is, second consecutive game, both CG shutouts by Johnson. Friday and Saturday. (They had Sunday off, so Johnson shut them out on Monday, too.) September, 1908.